And I ran, legs pumping like pistons, cold morning air raking my lungs. I scanned the sand, the grass, the trees as I ran… stopping only to check for any small traces she might have left behind. But mostly, I looked to the water. The steady, lapping waves that crested white and then thinned and spread themselves far and wide. The water left delicate shells behind, yellows and pinks that shined like tempting jewels to a child’s eyes. Each one seemed to mock me.

I stopped, looking up as I heard the chopper pass overhead. It was low, the sound of the blades deafening. I gestured with huge, swinging movements toward the interior of the island, and it rose higher and lifted a whirlwind of sand along with it… burning my skin and stinging my eyes… and I pushed on. My heart stopped beating every time a wave washed up… and only started again with a painful thump when the water receded without leaving a tiny body behind. I’d sworn to Angel I would find her baby, but none of us knew just how long she’d been missing. She must have walked right by Mattie as she slept on the sofa. And all while Angel and I had been in bed…

I swallowed it all down. There wasn’t room for fear or blame. And there sure as hell wasn’t time. I closed my gritty eyes and clenched my teeth, thinking only of the softness of her dark hair… the color of her innocent eyes. I felt Angel’s love and trust in my heart… and the eternal love of a mother for her child…

And suddenly, I knew.

The cove.

It was where we’d taken Violet for a picnic and to search for the seashells she loved so much.

I ran, the sucking depths of the sand no match for my will. I headed up the sandbank by the cottage, taking a shortcut through the grass and trees. I stopped short, some twenty feet above the little cove, scanning the water… the sand… the clumps of…

Time stood still. But only long enough for the tiny, curled shape to register. I scrambled, half climbing, half falling over the rock edge, taking a shower of debris along with me. Thank God, she wasn’t in the belly of the cove, for I landed hard at the bottom. My next breath came with painful effort. “Violet… Christ… Violet…”

In two long strides, I was beside her. “Baby girl, open your eyes, sweetheart…” I put my ear to her little chest. Her clothes and hair were wet, cold… her lips were blue. “God… oh God, no…,” I prayed. I put the palm of my hand to the center of her chest and started rapid, shallow compressions. “Wake up, baby…,” I breathed. “You need to wake up now so I can take you back to your mama…”

I gathered her ankles in one hand and pushed them up to her chest, pumping them, shaking them, doing everything I could to stimulate her circulation. I paused only long enough to feel for her breathing. It was there, barely discernible, but it was there…

I held her in my arms, shaking her gently, chafing her limbs to warm her. “Look at me, Violet… please, baby… just open your eyes and look at me…”

But her eyes stayed closed and her head lolled against my shoulder. I heard the chopper overhead and swung an arm in the direction of my Angel. The beach where she and Mattie waited was the only place large enough for it to put down safely. Violet’s mouth opened and she retched. The smell of saltwater jolted me into action. With the helicopter in pursuit, I ran, Violet clutched to my chest.

There was only one thing that mattered to me now. And that was keeping my promise.

Violet needed her mother…

And I had promised to give Angelina back her child.

“Will, oh my God…

Violet…!”

Angel didn’t wait for me to reach her. She was on her feet and white-faced with pain, limping hard and pushing Mattie away. She collapsed on the sand, hair flying wildly around her head as the chopper positioned itself to land. I put her baby in her arms and wrapped myself around them both, covering them with my body, turning my back to the blowing sand to protect them.

“Violet… oh God, baby… Open up your eyes, baby. It’s mommy, sweetheart...open up your eyes…” Angelina turned her face up to mine, a thousand questions in her eyes, her lips parted. Tears were streaming down her face and her mouth worked silently. She couldn’t find the words…

“She was in the cove,” I said. “She’s breathing, but I think there was water in her stomach.” I held her face between my hands, unsure how much she was able to understand.

“The boat’s here…,” Mattie said, in a panicky voice.

“Chopper’s faster,” I said steadily. The noise from the blades forced us to shout. “I need to get her to the hospital, Angel,” I said, my face only inches from hers. “Every minute counts now. And the helicopter only has room for one of us.” My heart felt like it was tearing in two, asking her to make the decision. But she was Violet’s mother. It was her right…

“Take her,” she said, without hesitation. “Hold her and tell her I love her,” she said, holding the little girl’s hand and kissing it. “Mattie and I will take the boat and we’ll meet you there.” She dug her nails into my arm and her eyes were unnaturally large and dark in her pale face. “Don’t let her be alone, Will,” she sobbed. “Don’t ever leave her…

Whatever happens, just make sure she’s not all alone…”